Hiawatha LRT service restored, ice cleared (update)

Service on the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit line was temporarily suspended during the Thursday morning commute because of ice accumulation on overhead power lines.

Metro Transit said ice accumulated faster than trains could scrape it off – something that has happened only three or four times since the Hiawatha LRT line opened eight years ago. Crews were spotted trying to manually clear ice from the overhead lines around 8:30 a.m.

Metro Transit spokesman John Siqveland said replacement buses were dispatched as soon as possible but some passengers waited on trains for up to a half hour.

Buses replaced service for the entire length of the LRT line, between Minneapolis and Bloomington until LRT service resumed between Target Field and Franklin Avenue just after 9 a.m. Full LRT service was restore around 10 a.m.

At the peak of the morning commute, Metro Transit said that 42 percent of its buses were on time and that the average delay was 14 minutes.

Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and SouthWest Transit buses also experienced delays because of the storm.